Loren Castle started baking cookies after surviving cancer in her early twenties. Five years later, Sweet Loren’s refrigerated cookie dough was generating just $350,000 a year. But instead of giving up, she listened to customers, and reinvented the dough without gluten, dairy, eggs or nuts. That transformation turned a small regional business into a national brand sold in more than 30,000 stores.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• How surviving cancer at 22 inspired Loren to rethink her career and develop a passion for healthier food.
• What working at New York’s Levain Bakery taught her about the enormous appeal—and profitability—of cookies.
• Why Loren decided to sell ready-made cookie dough instead of cookies
• Why she was totally unprepared for her first Whole Foods meeting—but went anyway
• Why raising her first $1 million from friends and family was much harder than she expected.
• Why hundreds of customer requests revealed an unmet need for allergen-free cookie dough.
• Why growing slowly may have saved the company.
• Why Loren isn't rushing to sell Sweet Loren’s

TIMESTAMPS:

8:40 – After her mother's leukemia diagnosis, Loren is diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 22.

13:12 – Watching people line up for cookies at Levain Bakery: “I think this is America’s favorite food.”

14:54 – Selling baked goods at Smorgasburg: customers ask if they can just buy the dough

26:52 – Just as Whole Foods agrees to carry her cookie dough, Loren loses her mom

37:41 – What happens after Sweet Loren’s gets on The Today Show: “The whole country is excited by this.”

50:19 – Loren reconsiders her recipes after customers ask for dough without gluten, dairy, eggs.

56:24 – Loren takes the leap: discontinuing her original product line and going allergen-free for all.

1:05:41 – From one Whole Foods to 30,000 stores–the company expands nationally.

1:07:46 – After years of struggle, Loren explains why she wants to keep building the company instead of pursuing an exit.

This episode was produced by Carla Esteves, with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram → @howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram → @guy.raz

Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz

Substack → guyraz.substack.com

Website → guyraz.com

Today’s callers: Lindzi from Chicago wants to expand her gourmet marshmallow brand into retail without cannibalizing her high-margin DTC sales. Then, Vivi from Hawaii considers how to best tell her sustainable swimwear brand’s story to a digital audience. And Aly from Los Angeles wonders whether a subscription model is best for her whimsical curated experiences.

Plus, Tara talks about her latest entrepreneurial venture, Snackish, and how starting a new company feels different the second time around...

Thank you to the founders of XO Marshmallows, Vivi’s Vacation, and Romanticize Collective for being a part of our show.

Be sure to listen to SmartSweets’ founding story as told by Tara on the show in 2024.

This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Annlie Huang.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.

In the early 1990’s, Tim League spent $50,000 in savings to lease an abandoned movie theater on the wrong side of the tracks—a shaky experiment that eventually grew into a thriving national chain. As Tim and his wife Karrie built theaters in Austin and beyond, they made a name for themselves by offering dinner with the movie, creative pairings (like sake with Godzilla), and roadshows where movie-goers could watch Deliverance in canoes, or Rocky on the famous steps in Philly. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema now has dozens of locations across the country, but there have been plenty of bruises along the way: a failed first theater, a fractious lawsuit with business partners, and a swan dive into the red during the pandemic.

This episode was produced by Carla Esteves, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Carla Esteves.

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram → @howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram → @guy.raz

Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz

Substack → guyraz.substack.com

Website → guyraz.com